The University of Missouri has accepted an invitation for its football team to play in the Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl, as announced today. The bowl game, which began in 1947 as the Tangerine Bowl, will pit the 10-3 and 16th-ranked (CFP) Tigers against the 25th-ranked Minnesota Golden Gophers (8-4) in a January 1, 2015 matchup in Orlando, Fla. Kickoff is set for Noon (central time) with the game broadcast on ABC.

Mizzou is fresh off earning its second-straight SEC Eastern Division championship, which marked MU’s fifth divisional title since 2007 (tied for most in the nation during that stretch, along with Alabama and Florida State). This will mark Mizzou’s 10th bowl game appearance under Head Coach Gary Pinkel (112-66 in 14 years at Mizzou, 185-103-1 overall in 24 seasons), including nine in the last 10 years. Mizzou claimed the 2014 Cotton Bowl trophy with a 41-31 win over Oklahoma State to cap a 12-2 season a year ago.

This will be Mizzou’s second appearance in the Citrus Bowl, as the Tigers claimed a 19-17 win on Dec. 19, 1981 over Southern Mississippi, when the bowl was named the Tangerine Bowl. Additionally, Head Coach Gary Pinkel will be making a return trip himself, as he played in the game for Kent State on Dec. 29, 1972, with Tampa taking a 21-18 win.

Football Season ticket holders and Tiger Scholarship Fund donors have an extended priority deadline of tomorrow (Monday) at Noon to place orders for the Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl.

Priority requests can be placed through the Mizzou Ticket Office by logging in at www.mutigers.com/myaccount and selecting ‘Buy Packages/Tickets’ on the home screen. Individuals can then choose the Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl and select the number of seats they wish to request. Requests will then be allocated by TSF donor level and priority points prior to the general public sale, which will begin Monday afternoon at 1 p.m.

Series Information

1943 – Minnesota 26, Mizzou 13 in Minneapolis
1944 – Minnesota 39, Mizzou 27 in Minneapolis
1945 – Minnesota 34, Mizzou 0 in Minneapolis
1961 – Mizzou 6, Minnesota 0 in Minneapolis
1962 – Tie, 0-0, in Minneapolis
1965 – Mizzou 17, Minnesota 6 in Minneapolis
1966 – Mizzou 24, Minnesota 0 in Columbia
1970 – Mizzou 34, Minnesota 12 in Columbia

— MU Sports Information —

ATLANTA (AP) — Blake Sims went out for one more snap, then trotted off the field to a standing ovation from the Alabama fans.

When he got to the sideline, there was a long embrace with offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin.

The wait was sure worth it.

Sims, the fifth-year senior who finally got a chance to start this season, threw a pair of touchdown passes in an MVP performance that carried top-ranked Alabama to a spot in the inaugural College Football Playoff. The Crimson Tide routed Missouri 42-13 to win its 24th Southeastern Conference championship Saturday.

“You love to see a guy who’s gone through what he’s gone through, who’s worked so hard and always persevered, then have success,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said. “It’s a credit to his character and work ethic.”

In a sense, it’s like Sims is trying to make up for lost time, running Kiffin’s fast-paced offense to perfection.

They turned out to be the perfect match, Sims’ versatility allowing the Tide to speed up things.

“I’ve never seen a guy work so hard,” Saban said.

This has also been a season of redemption for Kiffin, the guy who rubbed so many people the wrong way during stints as a head coach. His record never matched his bravado, but Saban picked him to run the Alabama offense.

Some scoffed at the choice.

As usual, Saban had the last laugh.

Wearing a white windbreaker, a play card in hand, Kiffin made the calls that helped Alabama pile up a commanding 504-313 edge in total yards.

Sims was brilliant, completing 23 of 27 for 262 yards as Alabama pulled away with a 21-point fourth quarter. T.J. Yeldon and Derrick Henry each had a couple of touchdown runs. Amari Cooper did nothing to hurt his Heisman chances, setting an SEC championship record with 12 receptions.

Missouri (No. 16 CFP, No. 14 AP) made it a one-score contest in the third quarter, closing to 21-13, but Alabama (12-1) put up three touchdowns over the final 15 minutes to lock up its spot in the CFP. And if the committee was impressed by second-ranked Oregon’s 51-13 rout of Arizona in the Pac-12 title game Friday night, they got another equally dominating performance from the team on top of its latest rankings.

For Saban and the Tide, this one was especially sweet.

A year ago, Alabama was poised to make a run at its third straight national title when Auburn won the Iron Bowl on the final play — a 109-yard return of a missed field goal.

Alabama was ranked No. 1 by the playoff committee after winning the brutal SEC West. By knocking off the East champion, the Tide made it three SEC titles in Saban’s dominating eight years as coach, a run that increasingly looks like the second coming of Bear Bryant in a much more competitive era.

If Saban can win two more games, it would be his fourth national title in Tuscaloosa, another step closer to Bryant’s five AP titles.

At the start, Alabama tried to run Missouri right out of the building.

Kiffin called for a bunch of short passes and runs to deal with Missouri’s pass rush, which led the SEC in sacks. The Tide went 68 yards in 10 plays — never even going to third down — to seize a 7-0 lead less than 4 minutes into the game.

Plucky Missouri, which reached the title game for the second year in a row despite ugly losses to Indiana and Georgia, managed to stay in this one much of the way thanks to Maty Mauk’s deep passing. He completed throws of 63, 47, 32 and 26 yards, one of them on a Johnny Manziel-like scramble in which he threw back across his body running to his left.

The Tigers’ lone touchdown was a 1-yard pass to Bud Sasser on fourth-and-goal.

But that wasn’t nearly enough against the Crimson Tide juggernaut.

After dinking the Tigers with short throws, Sims suddenly went deep on a 58-yard touchdown pass to DeAndrew White that made it 14-0 early in the second quarter. Sims hung in the pocket despite a brutal hit that got Missouri’s star defensive end, Shane Ray, ejected from the game for targeting.

Sims wasn’t done.

On the first snap of the fourth quarter, the fifth-year senior hooked up with Christion Jones on a 6-yard TD toss that stretched the lead to 28-13.

For good measure, Henry tacked on a couple of touchdown runs to make it a blowout. He finished with 141 yards on 20 carries.

Missouri struggled to run against the Tide defense, limited to 41 yards on 23 carries. Mauk was 16 of 34 for 272 yards.

“Once we got the game pretty close,” Missouri receiver Jimmie Hunt said, “they did what they needed to do to finish it.”

— Associated Press —

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Oklahoma’s still scoring.

Now, the Sooners are playing defense, too.

Ryan Spangler scored a season-high 18 points to help No. 22 Oklahoma defeat Missouri 82-63 Friday night in the SEC/Big 12 challenge. Buddy Hield had 17 points and three steals and Isaiah Cousins added 16 points for the Sooners, who shot 57 percent from the field and made 10 of 20 3-pointers.

But what changed the game was the way Oklahoma defended after halftime. The Sooners opened the second half on a 15-0 run. Missouri (4-4) didn’t score for the first 5:16 of the second half and missed its first seven shots after the break. It’s a big step for a team that wasn’t always focused on getting stops a year ago.

“Defensively, we’ve been making progress and we’ve been getting better,” Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger said. “Defensively, I thought we were pretty solid all night.”

Oklahoma (5-2) was coming off a runner-up finish in the Battle 4 Atlantis.

Johnathan Williams III led Missouri with 16 points and eight rebounds. Montaque Gill-Caesar, Missouri’s top scorer entering the game, finished with 15 points on 6-for-16 shooting.

Namon Wright added 12 points for the Tigers, who had won two straight.

The Sooners held Missouri to 42 percent shooting.

“We have a lot of quick guys,” Hield said. “We do a good job pressuring the ball. It was a team effort.”

It was the third blowout loss for the Tigers this season under first-year coach Kim Anderson. They lost to Arizona by 19 and Purdue by 21 last month.

Missouri led Oklahoma early, but a 3-pointer by Cousins put the Sooners up 19-17. Cousins scored 11 points in the first 9:29.

Hield, Oklahoma’s top scorer for the season, didn’t score until 5:39 remained in the first half, but his layup pushed the Sooners’ lead to 27-20 and caused Missouri to call timeout.

A 3-pointer by Hield pushed the lead to 10, and a dunk by TaShawn Thomas bumped the lead to 12. Spangler’s 3-pointer right before the half gave Oklahoma a 37-25 lead at the break.

The Sooners rolled in the second half against a Missouri team that is loaded with freshmen and sophomores.

“This is big boy basketball, and you have to be ready for anything they throw at you,” Anderson said. “I thought we panicked more than anything, and they put pressure on us.”

QUOTE OF THE NIGHT

“I think all around, we just kind of succumbed to what they were doing.” — Gill-Caesar.

ON THE RISE

Spangler, who made 3 of 11 3-pointers last season, made 2 of 2 on Friday night and has made 6 of 9 for the season.

TIP-INS

Oklahoma: The teams met regularly when Missouri was a member of the Big Eight, then the Big 12 before moving to the SEC. Oklahoma now has a 113-97 lead in the series. … Oklahoma beat then-No. 22 UCLA and Butler to reach the Battle 4 Atlantis final before losing to then-No. 2 Wisconsin.

Missouri: The Tigers, who had been holding opponents to 36 percent shooting in the second half of games, allowed the Sooners to shoot 68 percent in the second half. … Missouri started off well, but made just 11 of 27 shots in the first half.

UP NEXT

Oklahoma plays at Tulsa on Dec. 13.

Missouri plays host to Elon on Dec. 11.

— Associated Press —

Mizzou junior defensive end Shane Ray (Kansas City, Mo.) has been named a finalist for the 2014 Hendricks Award, as announced by the Ted Hendricks Foundation on Thursday (Dec. 4). The award honors the nation’s top defensive end and the list of six finalists was narrowed down from 18 players who were named to the watch list earlier this season.

Ray, a native of Kansas City, Mo., is third in the nation with his 20.5 tackles-for-loss and is sixth with his 12.0 total sacks. Ray leads the SEC in both categories and also leads the league in sacks per game and tackles for loss per game. He is a big part of a Mizzou defense that has been sensational in SEC play. In league games, Mizzou’s defense ranks first in rushing defense, first in total defense and second in both scoring and passing defense. Over the Tigers’ current six-game winning streak, Ray and the Tigers have held opponents to just 98.5 rushing yards per game and 281.5 total yards.

One of six finalists, Ray is joined by Ohio State’s Joey Bosa, Clemson’s Vic Beasley, Washington’s Hau’oli Kikaha, Utah’s Nate Orchard and USC’s Leonard Williams. He is one of just two juniors to be honored as a finalist, joining Williams. The remaining four are all seniors.

— MU Sports Information —

Mizzou football redshirt junior Andrew Baggett (Lee’s Summit, Mo.) has been named the Southeastern Conference’s Co-Special Teams Player of the Week after his standout performance against Arkansas in Mizzou’s SEC East Championship-clinching win last Friday. The award, which was announced Monday by the league office, is the second of Baggett’s career after he earned the same distinction on Nov. 12, 2012. He shares this week’s award with Tennessee’ Cameron Sutton.

Baggett, who is now third all-time at Mizzou with his 276 career points, became the first Tiger ever to connect on a pair of 50-yard field goals in the same game, hitting from a career-long 52 and 50 yards against Arkansas last Friday. Both field goals came in the first half as he kept Mizzou in the game despite a scuffling offense to that point. He also added an extra point on Mizzou’s game-winning touchdown, accounting for seven points in the 21-14 victory.

This marks the ninth time a Tiger has won a weekly SEC award in 2014. The list of winners includes: Offensive Player of the Week – Maty Mauk (Sept. 6), Russell Hansbrough (Nov. 15); Defensive Player of the Week – Shane Ray (Sept. 13), Markus Golden (Nov. 22); Defensive Lineman of the Week – Shane Ray (Sept. 27, Oct. 18, Nov. 1); Special Teams Player of the Week – Marcus Murphy (Oct. 18), Andrew Baggett (Nov. 28).

On the season, Baggett has scored 81 points for the Tigers, connecting on field goals. He and the Tigers will play in the SEC Championship against top-ranked Alabama on Saturday at 3 p.m. (CT) on CBS.

— MU Sports Information —

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — After three quarters smothered by Arkansas, Missouri found a way out. It’s been that way most of the year, simply finding ways to get the job done.

“I just think it got contagious,” coach Gary Pinkel said after finally emerging from a rowdy locker room celebrating the 21-14 victory Friday over Arkansas that sent the No. 17 Tigers to the SEC championship game for the second straight season.

“You win games like that, a lot of players are making plays,”

Marcus Murphy scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 12-yard run with 4:38 remaining and Markus Golden recovered a fumble to seal it.

“It don’t get no better than that, man,” Golden said. “It’s a great feeling.”

Missouri (10-2, 7-1, No. 17 AP) tied it at 14 early in the fourth quarter with a 98-yard drive capped by Jimmie Hunt’s 4-yard TD reception and a reverse pass by receiver Bud Sasser to Darius White for the 2-point conversion.

“It worked awesome,” Pinkel said. “When these things work, it’s a great call.”

Arkansas (6-6, 2-6) was driving for the tie when Kentrell Brothers stripped Alex Collins and Golden recovered with 2:13 to go at the Missouri 35 to thwart Arkansas’ bid to tie it.

The game got a bit contentious even before the opening kickoff. Arkansas players accused Missouri players of refusing to shake hands.

“I think this is a nice start to the rivalry,” Arkansas coach Bret Bielema said. “I don’t know what happened. I just know there was a couple things there at the end of the coin toss.”

Golden said Missouri players shook hands before the coin toss and didn’t think it necessary to repeat such pleasantries.

The Razorbacks had won two straight, both shutouts against ranked teams while outscoring Mississippi and LSU 47-0.

“I think we might have worn down in the fourth quarter,” Bielema said. “My guess is we’ll be very, very energized and very, very excited bowl team to take somewhere.”

Brandon Allen, who was 13 for 30 for 133 yards and two touchdowns, played through a hip injury.

“In the last couple drives he asked me, `Hey, are you still good?” Allen said about Bielema. “I told him I was fine, I wanted to stay in. It was my decision to stay in.”

A sellout crowd of 71,168 stuck around for the fourth quarter surge by the Tigers that kept Georgia out of the Southeastern Conference title game on Dec. 7 in Atlanta. The Bulldogs (9-2, 6-2) would have won the East by virtue of a blowout victory against Missouri earlier in the season.

Fans mobbed the field after Maty Mauk’s kneel down ended it while stadium personnel took down the goal posts to prevent fans from toting them off to a nearby tavern. Ray Charles’ “Georgia on My Mind” played while the stadium slowly emptied.

It’s the fifth division title in eight seasons for Missouri (two in the SEC and three in the Big 12), which also reached 10 victories for the fifth time in 14 seasons under Pinkel.

“One of the great traits they have is that when things get tough, they get tougher,” Pinkel said. “I can’t tell you how proud I am of these guys.”

Arkansas led 14-3 in the second quarter. Jonathan Williams had a 23-yard scoring catch, Dan Skipper blocked a field goal and punter Sam Irwin-Hill ran for a first down and pinned Missouri at the 2 early the fourth.

Missouri had one interception and could have easily had two more turnovers in the second quarter. Trey Flowers stripped Mauk on a sack and Taiwan Johnson recovered at the Tigers 19 with 1:16 to go, but officials ruled after video review that Mauk’s arm had been going forward with the ball and the Tigers had enough time for Andrew Baggett’s 51-yard field goal to end the half.

The schools exchanged turnovers on consecutive plays near midfield in the second, Golden’s forced fumble on Williams followed by D.J. Dean’s interception on a tipped pass for Arkansas. Missouri avoided another turnover when Murphy muffed a fair catch but recovered the fumbled punt.

Arkansas held opponents scoreless for nine straight quarters and a total of 148 minutes, 58 seconds before Baggett’s career-long 52-yard field early in the second to cut the gap to 7-3. Flowers’ 12-yard sack on third down pushed the Tigers back before Baggett beat his previous best by 8 yards.

Baggett missed two extra-point kicks last week in a victory at Tennessee.

“It was nice to see him bounce back and that the players had reached down to pick him up,” Pinkel said. “I told him before the game, ‘I believe in you.'”

Williams had an easy trip to the end zone on a 23-yard touchdown reception that capped the Razorbacks’ opening drive.

— Associated Press —

LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — Missouri lost its first two games in Maui, lost a starter early to injury and fought foul trouble.

Even with all that adversity, no way were the Tigers going to head home without a victory.

Namon Wright scored 21 points, Montaque Gill-Caesar added 18 and Missouri beat Chaminade 74-60 Wednesday in the seventh-place game of the Maui Invitational.

“Our mentality coming in today was that we’re not going to leave Hawaii without a W, and I think we responded really well,” Gill-Caesar said.

Missouri (3-3) had two disappointing losses to open the tournament, but jumped on Chaminade (2-3) early, building a 10-point halftime lead behind Wright.

The Silverswords made a run in the second half, but Gill-Caesar stuffed any hope of a comeback by scoring 16 points and hitting four 3-pointers in the second half.

The Tigers did it with forward Johnathan Williams III playing just seven minutes because of a sore knee and with starting guards Keith Shamburger and Wes Clark going a combined 0 for 13 from the field.

“It wasn’t very pretty, but I thought we played well enough to win,” Missouri coach Kim Anderson said. “On the third day, to be able to come and get a win is important.”

Chaminade didn’t get a win, but that’s not what this tournament is about for the Silverswords. To pull off another upset would be great, but the experience of playing big-name programs — one few Division II programs get on a consistent basis — will only help Chaminade down the line.

Lee Bailey led the Silverswords with 22 points and Kuany Kuany added 14.

“Our goal coming in, obviously we’d love to win a game, win a couple games and stuff like that,” Chaminade coach Eric Bovaird said. “But the thing I talked to these guys about is we have the best opportunity in Division II to play against good competition to make us better.”

The Tigers were hoping to salvage something from their trip to paradise.

Missouri kept up with No. 3 Arizona in its opener before fading down the stretch and never really had a chance against Purdue on the second day.

The Tigers lost those two games by a combined 40 points and losing to the Division II Silverswords would have made it a disastrous trip.

Chaminade had pulled off upsets in this position before.

The host Silverswords are regulars in the seventh-place game with such strong fields in the Maui Invitational and have occasionally caught teams down or off-guard on the final day. Their lists of conquests include Texas, Oklahoma and Villanova through the years.

Chaminade struggled to open this year’s tournament, buried on the glass in a loss to Pittsburgh and by Chase Fischer’s wave of 3-pointers (10 in all) in a loss to BYU.

Missouri tried to make sure the Silverswords never stood a chance at the upset.

Using their depth to overwhelm the smaller Silverswords, the Tigers scored the game’s first nine points and built a 38-28 halftime lead.

Chaminade had trouble with Missouri’s length and athleticism, hitting 9 of 31 shots in the first half. The Silverswords also had a hard time finding Wright, who made all three of his 3-point attempts while scoring 12 points in the first half.

Missouri extended the lead to 15 in the first six minutes of the second half, but Chaminade went on a 7-0 run to pull within 52-46.

The upset suddenly seemed a possibility and the small-but-vocal group of Chaminade fans inside the Lahaina Civic Center started screaming and stomping the bleachers.

Gill-Caesar put an end to those thoughts, hitting three 3-pointers to push Missouri’s lead to 63-51.

“This tournament always helps just energy-wise and battle test us before we hit the conference play,” Bailey said.

—

TIP-INS

Chaminade: The Silverswords were good from the free-throw line, making 13 of 17, but not so good from the 3-point arc, going 9 for 28.

Missouri: The Tigers outscored Chaminade 38-9 in bench points. … Clark went 0 for 7, Shamburger 0 for 6.

UP NEXT

Missouri hosts Southeast Missouri State on Dec. 2.

Chaminade opens its Pacific West Conference schedule at home against Hawaii-Hilo on Dec. 4.

FRESHMAN REBOUND

Gill-Caesar scored 13 points to lead the Tigers against Arizona before all but disappearing against Purdue (two points, 1-of-6 shooting). The talented freshman was back to being assertive against Chaminade, hitting 5 of 11 shots, including 4 of 8 from the 3-point arc.

— Associated Press —

LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — Purdue lost its Maui Invitational opener in the worst possible way: By not playing hard enough in the first half.

Stung by the slow start in their loss to Kansas State, the Boilermakers made sure there was no easing into their game against Missouri.

Rapheal Davis scored 22 points and Purdue ran away from Missouri in the first half for an 82-61 win over the Tigers Tuesday in the Maui Invitational loser’s bracket.

Coming off a tough loss to Kansas State in its opener, Purdue (4-1) was sharp at both ends against the young Tigers while building a 25-point halftime lead.

The Boilermakers struggled at times during the second half, but were so far in front that it didn’t matter.

“We watched film yesterday and we kind of saw that we didn’t play hard. And that is one thing that’s unacceptable,” Purdue guard Jon Octeus said. “You never want to say we lost the game because we didn’t play hard enough. So we just took that approach.”

Missouri (2-3) had no answer for Purdue’s physical, aggressive defense in the first half while falling into a big hole. The Tigers played better over the game’s final 10 minutes, but had no chance of finishing off the comeback from a deficit that climbed to 34 points in the second half.

Johnathan Williams III had 14 points and Keith Shamburger added 11 for Missouri.

“The first half was embarrassing,” Missouri coach Kim Anderson said. “We didn’t play very well. I thought Purdue did a great job. They had us back on our heels. We didn’t execute very well, obviously.”

The Tigers kept up with No. 3 Arizona behind their defense in the Maui opener, using a variety of looks to frustrate the Wildcats in the first half.

Missouri lost grip of the game in the second half, when Arizona started hitting shots and the Tigers couldn’t hold onto the ball. Missouri had 17 turnovers that led to 24 points for Arizona in the 72-53 loss.

Purdue’s turnover problems were even worse in its loss to Kansas State.

Kansas State scored 15 of its first 19 points off Purdue turnovers and built a 20-point lead before the Boilermakers shot their way back behind Kendall Stephens. He had 14 of his 21 points in the second half, but Purdue came up short, losing 88-79.

The Boilermakers had a much easier time of it against Missouri, pressuring the Tigers into mistakes and missed shots while turning the game into a runaway quickly.

Missouri missed seven of its first eight shots and went nearly six minutes without a field goal as Purdue built a quick 11-point lead. The Boilermakers kept adding to it, pushing the lead to 45-20 by halftime as the Tigers continued to clank away.

“I thought today we were ready to go and we really competed,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said. “You can learn a lot from one loss. There is no need to have two losses, but you can learn a lot from one loss.”

Missouri shot 7 of 29 in the first half while Purdue went 15 for 26 to put the game out of reach before the second half even started.

—

TIP-INS

Purdue: The Boilermakers had a 41-28 rebounding advantage. … Davis made 14 of 18 free throws.

Missouri: The Tigers had one fewer turnover than Purdue (16-15), but the Boilermakers turned those into 23 points while Missouri had 12 points off turnovers. … The Tigers made 12 of 26 shots in the second half and were 16 of 20 on free throws overall.

UP NEXT

Purdue moves on to face BYU in the fifth-place game on Wednesday.

Missouri faces Chaminade in Wednesday’s seventh-place game.

MONTAQUE’S QUIET GAME

Freshman Montaque Gill-Caesar was Missouri’s leading scorer through the first three games of the season and had a team-high 13 against Arizona. He was far less aggressive against the Boilermakers, scoring two points on 1-of-6 shooting.

“When you look on the score sheet it says Montaque Gill-Caesar is a leading scorer, so they’re going to guard you,” Anderson said. “When you’re young, you’ve got to learn how to overcome that. You have to learn how to move harder, how to come off screens better, how to guard better. It’s not just him, it’s everybody.”

— Associated Press —

LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — Slow starts and strong finishes are nothing new to Arizona. The Wildcats did it in three games on the mainland and started the Maui Invitational the same way.

They better get it fixed fast with the competition ramping up over the next two days.

Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Brandon Ashley each scored 15 points, helping No. 3 Arizona wear down Missouri for a 72-53 victory in the opening round of the Maui Invitational on Monday.

“That initial surge out of the gates of playing well at both ends, I don’t know if we’ve really done that,” Arizona coach Sean Miller said. “I can also flip it and make it a positive, because like every team at this time of the year, you’re in search of getting better and improving. Today is another step for our team.”

Arizona (4-0) got off to slow starts in two of its first three games and wasn’t exactly sharp early against the Tigers.

The Wildcats struggled to hit shots from the perimeter and were at times disjointed offensively before a short spurt put them up five a halftime.

They made up for it on defense, holding Missouri (2-2) to 36 percent shooting, including 2 of 13 from 3-point range.

Freshman Stanley Johnson had 14 points for Arizona and T.J. McConnell nine assists to offset a 2-for-11 game from the floor.

“I’m going to take something that coach has said in the past: A great defensive team is never selfish,” Ashley said. “What that means basically is that if somebody gets beat, you’re going to be there to help them out.”

Missouri kept it close in the first half in the first half behind its defense.

The Tigers let the game get away from them because they couldn’t hold onto the ball on offense.

Missouri had 17 turnovers that led to 24 points for Arizona, dooming any hope of keeping up with the Wildcats.

Montaque Gill-Caesar led the Tigers with 13 points.

“We didn’t make the correct passes and (it was) the pressure, so we can’t really blame one thing — it was both,” said Missouri’s Keith Shamburger, who had 11 points.

Arizona pulled away in the second half to beat Mount St. Mary’s and UC Irvine before heading to Maui.

The young Tigers opened the season with a frustrating 69-61 loss to Missouri-Kansas City, but bounced back with victories over Valparaiso and Oral Roberts. Missouri showed off its shooting prowess against Oral Roberts, hitting 8 of 9 3-pointers in second half to pull away from Oral Roberts for a 78-64 win.

Neither team could hit much of anything early in Maui.

Arizona has struggled from the perimeter this season and it continued against the active Tigers. The Wildcats missed their first eight 3-pointers before getting a couple to drop late in the first half to take a 32-25 lead.

The Tigers had trouble with Arizona’s length and athleticism, struggling to get good looks inside and clanking a couple of long 3-pointers high off the glass. Missouri shot 8 of 24 in the first half.

Arizona started to find the range a bit by getting the ball inside, hitting five of its first 10 shots to build the lead to 11 early in the second half.

The Wildcats kept dropping shots — 11 of 23 in the half — but kept stretching the lead for a spot in the Maui semifinals.

“We played some different defenses to see if we could slow them down a little bit, but they’re a great team and it won’t work forever,” Missouri coach Kim Anderson said. “But it worked for a while.”

—

TIP-INS

Missouri: Wes Clark, who averaged 14 points through the first three games, had three points on 1-of-6 shooting.

Arizona: Arizona hit 19 of 25 free throws for its best performance from the line this season. … The Wildcats hit a couple of shots late to finish 5 for 16 from 3-point range.

UP NEXT

Missouri: will face Purdue in the Maui Invitational loser’s bracket on Tuesday.

Arizona: plays Kansas State in the tournament semifinals on Tuesday.

RONDAE’S ROLE

Miller has used Hollis-Jefferson in the sixth man role this season because he likes the spark the high-energy sophomore provides off the bench. With Arizona in a bit of a lull most of the first half, Miller swapped out Gabe York for Hollis-Jefferson to start the second. RHJ, as he’s known, scored five quick points, including his first 3-pointer of the season, to help spark Arizona’s run in the second half.

MISSOURI REBOUNDING

Arizona has been one of the nation’s best rebounding teams over the past few seasons and have a long, athletic team that’s difficult to grab boards against. Though a bit smaller than the Wildcats, Missouri was able to out-rebound Arizona 34-32, including eight offensive rebounds.

— Associated Press —

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Missouri found a way to win on the road once again.

Now, the Tigers return home with a chance to earn their second straight trip to the Southeastern Conference championship game.

Maty Mauk threw a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown passes and Marcus Murphy ran for two scores Saturday night as Missouri defeated Tennessee 29-21 for its 10th straight road win, setting a school record.

“Everybody said we were going to lose this game, too,” Missouri defensive end Shane Ray said. “It doesn’t look like it.”

Missouri can clinch the East Division and earn a spot in the SEC title game by winning at home Friday over Arkansas. A loss would send Georgia (9-2, 6-2, No. 10 CFP, No. 9 AP) to Atlanta instead. Georgia is 10th and Missouri 20th in the College Football Playoff standings (No. 19 AP).

Andrew Baggett’s 43-yard field goal broke a 13-all tie midway through the third quarter. Mauk threw a 73-yard touchdown pass to Jimmie Hunt and a 13-yard scoring strike to Bud Sasser in the fourth quarter.

Tennessee (5-6, 2-5) must win next week at Vanderbilt to become bowl-eligible for the first time since 2010.

“We’ve got a lot to accomplish with this football team,” Tennessee coach Butch Jones said. “We’re not going anywhere. Some people never even thought we’d be playing for a bowl game.”

The Volunteers cut the lead to 29-21 when Joshua Dobbs threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Jason Croom with 1:52 remaining and delivered a two-point conversion on a quarterback keeper. Tennessee then rested its hopes on an onside kick.

Tennessee recovered its first attempt, but an offside penalty forced the Vols to kick again. Although Tennessee’s Justin Coleman recovered the next kick, officials ruled the Vols had touched the ball before it went the required 10 yards.

Missouri won by containing a Tennessee offense that had averaged 47.5 points per game in Dobbs’ two previous starts. Missouri had six sacks and kept Tennessee’s offense out of the end zone until the final 2 minutes. The Volunteers’ only touchdown before that came when holder Patrick Ashford threw a 31-yard pass to Alex Ellis on a fake field goal.

“We felt going in we had to get after Josh Dobbs to win this game,” said Missouri defensive end Markus Golden, who had two sacks. “That’s exactly what was on our mind.”

Dobbs was 24 of 37 for 195 yards with a touchdown and interception, while Mauk went 12 of 25 for 230 yards. Murphy ran for 82 yards on 19 carries to help Missouri outrush Tennessee 180-53.

“I’d definitely say that’s the best defense we’ve played (against),” Tennessee running back Jalen Hurd said.

Tennessee was missing leading tackler A.J. Johnson and cornerback Michael Williams, who were suspended from all team-related activities Monday, one day before both were named as subjects of an ongoing rape investigation in which no charges have been filed.

The Vols also didn’t have injured center Mack Crowder and receiver Marquez North. They played the first half without safety Brian Randolph, who had committed a targeting penalty in a 50-16 victory over Kentucky last week.

All those absences tested Tennessee’s depth to the point that the Vols started seven true freshmen. Never before had Tennessee started that many true freshmen in one game.

Tennessee still seemed on the verge of tying the game or taking the lead early in the fourth quarter.

“This is a resilient group of kids,” Jones said.

The Tigers were clinging to a 16-13 advantage when a pass-interference penalty gave Tennessee a first down at the Missouri 29. But on the next play, Dobbs threw a pass that bounced off the hands of wide receiver Josh Malone and was picked off by Kenya Dennis at the Missouri 20.

Three plays later, Mauk threw a deep pass to Hunt, who beat Coleman to catch the ball inside the Tennessee 40, then stiff-armed cornerback Cam Sutton inside the 25 before heading into the end zone. The touchdown extended Missouri’s lead to 23-13 with 10:42 remaining.

Mauk capped Missouri’s next drive by finding Sasser in the left corner of the end zone with 6:22 left.

“I’m very, very proud of our football team,” Missouri coach Gary Pinkel said. “We’ve got a quick week, short week. We’ve got a big game on Friday.”

— Associated Press —